Lechon Kawali (fried pork belly)

Lechon Kawali is definitely in my top 10 for favorite Filipino foods.

1. It is pork belly
2. It is fried
3. It is crispy.
4. See # 1

What more could you ask for?

Pork belly is most widely used as bacon but is used quite often in Asian cuisines on dishes meant for any time of the day. In our household, we eat it stewed, slow-cooked, grilled, fried, or in soups. We cook Lechon Kawali maybe once every 3 months and consider this a cheat meal. Served with white rice, and liver sauce dip (Mang Tomas liver spread). Another favorite dip is vinegar with finely chopped garlic. Try it, it is yummy!

2 lbs of pork belly

water

3 cloves of garlic

3 tbsp fish sauce

1 bay leaf

2 tsp of peppercorn

2 tsp five spice

oil for deep frying

Clean pork belly. Place the meat in the pot together with garlic, fish sauce, bay leaf and peppercorn. Cover the meat with water. The meat must be fully submerged in water. Bring to a boil over high heat. And lower the heat to low. Let it simmer for about an hour or until tender. Strain the meat and place them on a tray, skin side up. Using a fork, poke the whole surface of the skin repeatedly to let release oil and make the skin very crispy during frying. Sprinkle the five spice on the skin and spread. I cut the meat into smaller pieces, for easier cooking. Let it air in room temperature for at least 2 hours. Preheat oil to 375 deg f. Slowly place the meat into the pan. (Please be careful in frying pork belly. It splatters and oil may overflow the pan. I recommend using a deep fryer with a lid and vent to release steam. If you don’t have deep fryer, use a tall wide pan with the oil not more than a quarter of the pan.) Cook it for about 8-10 mins. Until crispy. Serve with rice.